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Author: White Tail 365

I’m the first to admit that I’m no rifleman. I’ve always lived in shotgun-only country. While I’ve taken my share of deer with a gun, all have been at close range. What’s more, for many years now my primary weapon has been a bow–either recurve or compound. All of this adds up to one simple fact: Deer beyond 70 or 80 yards seem a long way out there to me.

So when I was invited on a rifle hunt in Alabama last week, I did what I always do on a rifle hunt–pray the deer stay close. Oh I know what a centerfire rifle is capable of, but I’m just not enough of a rifleman to let the weapon realize its potential. On the last morning of the hunt I proved it, whiffing on a buck that was an easy target.

Simple analysis? I got buck fever and didn’t concentrate on all the easy little basics that would have helped me make the shot. Or in this case, shots. There, I admit it; I airballed not one, but two shots. And I admit that even after almost 40 years of hardcore deer hunting, I can still get a little buck fever, especially when armed with an implement I’m not wholly comfortable with.

So I had a little talk with myself before the afternoon hunt, reminding my rattled ego that I knew the basics of shooting a rifle accurately; I just needed to remember them at crunch time. So when the buck in this picture stepped out at 96 yards with an hour of shooting light left, I held a little practice run. I settled the crosshairs behind his shoulder, got my breathing nice and steady, and pulled the trigger–while purposely keeping the safety on. Then I did the drill again. The buck was relaxed and feeding, I had plenty of time to make the shot, and I wanted to hold a little dress rehearsal before committing to the real show. When I finally did, I made a perfect shot that tipped him over.

So, for what it’s worth, there’s one rookie rifleman’s method for dealing with buck fever.

The term “world-record whitetail” gets tossed around so much these days that it’s easy to ignore. But the buck pictured at left may well be the real deal.

On December 1st of this year, Illinois hunter Jason Sanders shot this gorgeous, high-tined monster, a deer that will likely appear in the B&C record books as the largest main-frame, typical 8-pointer ever shot by a hunter. Sanders’ buck nets 183-1/8 inches; the current world-record typical 8 (actually two are tied at the top) scores 180-3/8.

I learned about this deer through my good friend and veteran B&C measurer Tim Walmsley, who has measured some truly giant whitetails in his lifetime and readily admits that he can get pretty numb to big deer. This buck, however, has Tim truly pumped up. For more, check out his blog at Heartland Outdoors. To be honest, this picture, taken from above, does not quite capture the enormity of this buck’s rack. But stay tuned, as we will be covering this tremendous whitetail in greater depth soon.

First, we have a new high-speed video to show you, which is cool on its own merits. It illustrates, like you’ve probably never seen before, the most common complaint about a Whisker Biscuit arrow rest: “Too much fletching contact.” Check it out.

It’s plain to see that there is indeed a mountain of such contact. No one could argue otherwise. So much so that, as I say, it’s just crazy that a Whisker Biscuit can be so accurate.

Yet it is.

You’ve seen me shoot with one out to 70 and 100, and here is a YouTube video of Brian Quaca shooting with one at 136 yards. That should be proof enough, but I’ll also mention that I just finished testing the new Mathews Heli’m, which sported a Whisker Biscuit rest. I shot 25 3-shot, 40-yard groups that average 2.75 inches each. That won’t scare any tournament archers, but it should put plenty of fear in any deer.

Throughout the year, I set up and shoot bows with a variety of rests because it’s my job to do so. But if it weren’t, I would shoot nothing but a Whisker Biscuit for hunting. It is vastly more accurate than it needs to be for the field; nothing secures an arrow better; and it is wonderfully simple, with no moving parts or mechanisms to malfunction and ruin my hunt.

So there you have it. The Whisker Biscuit is still the best rest for bowhunting. Stand with me or shoot me down. Whoever makes the best argument, for or against, will be invited to spout his own brand of nonsense right here as my guest.

Last week the Muskegon Chronicle added to the anecdotal evidence that the venerable .30-30 Winchester–despite it’s long track record–is in fact a little underpowered for use on modern television sets.

According to the article, a 66-year-old man from Oceana County allegedly fired a .30-30 deer rifle at his television Monday night. The television, however, was still functioning when police arrived. It’s unknown what show the man was watching. And, you’ll be shocked to learn, he was intoxicated. Now, I know that none of you would ever get drunk and shoot your television set with a deer rifle, but if you did…

A. What rifle would you use?

B. And what show would you shoot? (Suggestions: Keeping Up with the Kardashians, The Jersey Shore, The Bachelorette, or, for Elvis fans, reruns of The Robert Goulet TV Show.)

The deer season has been closed here in Minnesota for about a month, but I can’t keep from snooping around the timber, even if it’s just for a 10-minute walk. It was on such a jaunt last week that I discovered the unmistakable sign of a buck working some scrapes. So I ran back to the house, grabbed a trail camera and mounted it so it overlooked the pawing in the snow.

I decided to pull the SD card from the camera yesterday afternoon. And when I walked back to the scrape, I was shocked by the amount of deer sign there. The signs indicated only a deer or two working the scrape when I initially set up the camera. It looked like a cow-yard yesterday! After pulling the out the card, I hustled home and fired up the computer. In five days, I captured at least eight different bucks displaying all kinds of behavior: scraping, working licking branches, rub-urinating and sparring.

I run trail cameras quite a bit in the summer and during the season, but I can honestly say that this was the best set of shots I have had all year, and the only time I’ve had five bucks in one photo. Are any of you still running cameras, and does the amount of activity I lucked into match what you’re seeing in your area?

The latest headline in the ongoing lead-vs.-lead-free debate comes from the Minneapolis Star Tribune, which last week reported that veterinarians at the University of Minnesota Raptor Center expressed frustration at what they describe as the continuing toll that lead bullets wreak on eagles and other raptors. Vets at the Raptor Center say that 17 eagles were brought to them with lead poisoning last year alone, down slightly from a 25- to 30-bird average. Most of these eagles, vets contend, ingested lead while feeding on hunter-killed deer carcasses. Lead-poisoned eagles can become blind, too weak to fly, and/or suffer internal damage and seizures.

Some hunters are getting on the lead-free train. Mark Johnson, executive director of the Minnesota Deer Hunters Association, says that education is the key to reducing the number of lead bullets that hunters use in their rifles, shotguns, and muzzleloaders. “As time goes on,” Johnson says, “More and more deer hunters will start using nontoxic bullets, and that will be good for the eagles.” (VOTE BELOW)

All of which begs the question: Where do you stand on this issue? Which of following best describes your position?

[A] I already shoot lead-free loads in my deer guns. [B] I would shoot lead-free ammo if it were cheaper and more available. [C] I would shoot lead-free ammo if it were as effective as lead. [D] B & C [E] I will never shoot non-toxic ammo.

As a rule, deer biologists tend to hate baiting. But in a likely unprecedented move by a state game agency, the Wyoming Game & Fish Department is asking the state legislature to help them legalize baiting in the state. According to this AP story, biologists are struggling so mightily to control whitetail populations that they’re looking to add another strategy to their toolbox.

It’s important to note that in this case, officials intend to limit the use of bait to urban areas or other deer-control hotspots. Their hope is to be able to lure deer to spots where the animals would be more vulnerable to harvest, and to areas where shooting is safer. No plans seem to be in the works to legalize baiting on a broad basis at this time.

This is an interesting move, and one I’ll keep an eye on. I’ve talked to urban deer control specialists that recognize the effectiveness of baiting and rely on it as a valued tool. Still, I can’t help but wonder if, given a taste of baiting, the state’s deer hunters will ask for an expansion of the practice down the road.

It’s time to plow under the clover-plot-equals-corn-pile argument. Of the many fresh debates germinated by modern whitetail management, none has proved faster growing or hardier than food plots vs. bait, in which one side insists that planting plots to attract and kill deer is no different from luring them to a mound of carrots or sugar beets. This may sound perfectly sensible…until you soil-test the dirt from which the logic grows.

Food plots are very different from baiting—and better for the health of the deer herd as well as for hunting. And while it’s true that a small plot of lush clover in the middle of otherwise barren woods may be no different from a pile of corn in terms of fair-chase principles, food-plot planting and management provides a long list of tangible and intangible benefits. Here are the main ones.

by Kirk Deeter
After careful thought, I have decided to award the prize (The Little Red Book of Fly Fishing) to Kyle Deneen.
He wrote: My cat Schizmak, (I just wanted to put his name in there because its cool) is a long haired Russian Blue, when t… …

We all have our embarrassing secrets. I’ll spare you mine, for the most part. But for the purposes of this blog, I will admit to one: As much as I would like to trace my interest in archery to the likes of Hill, Bear, Pope, or Young, the truth is that the real greats were all before my time. No, being a product of the television generation (an embarrassing admission itself), my initial fascination with archery was sparked by the exploding arrows of—cringe—Bo and Luke Duke.